1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information display devices, such as digital cameras, with a function that allows a user to select a desired item in a menu display, and particularly to information display devices which control the menu display in response to the user's operation.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional electronic camera, in order to set a desired recording condition for a user (resolution, AE value, ISO, etc.), the user displays a recording condition setting menu (continuous playback, image rotation, etc.) on a monitor and selects the desired item from the displayed items. Also, in order to set a desired playback condition, the user displays a playback condition setting menu on the monitor and selects the desired item from the displayed items.
In recent years, the number of the recording conditions and playback conditions from which a user can select an item to set a desired condition has been increased, however, the number of the items which can be displayed on the monitor is limited. Therefore, the items are often displayed on the monitor with a hierarchical structure. A user selects a desired item by performing a selecting operation several times, and sets the recording condition and playback condition in accordance with the selected menu items.
In an electronic device in which a user sets a desired recording condition from menu items in a hierarchical structure, the user can set the desired recording condition by selecting a higher level item which likely contains the item which the user wants to set, and then further selecting an item contained in the selected higher level item.
In the conventional electronic device described above, since a skilled user is aware of the higher level item which includes a desired item which the user wants to set, the skilled user can make the desired item displayed on the screen and select it quickly and with easy operations of selecting the higher level item and selecting the desired item. However, a user not used to the operation is not aware of the higher level item which includes a desired item which the user wants to set, and therefore has to repeat operations to select a higher level item and, if the user sees the selected higher level item not including the desired item, again select another higher level item until the desired item is displayed on the screen. Therefore this is problematic for a user not used to the operation because it takes a long time and needs complex operations to make a desired item displayed on the screen and select the item.